When merchandising, business owners have the option of simply putting their products on shelves and hoping customers will make purchases. Or, savvy business owners can learn the key factors that prompt shoppers to buy. With a little planning and knowledge, you can become a practitioner of the psychology of visual merchandising and put into effect the components that will fruitfully attract customers.

Target Market

The psychology of visual marketing has at its core the idiosyncrasies of your target market. Before merchandising your inventory for display, conduct some research to discover the type of people who make up your target market. Who frequents your store: Are they young or more mature? Do they possess above-average incomes? Are their lifestyles upper class or middle class? What are they seeking when visiting your shop? The more accurately you evaluate your clientele, the more success you’ll have at attracting and enticing them to buy. For example, if your shoppers are generally in their working years and live in prosperous neighborhoods, apply psychology to your visual marketing to more readily appeal to them by employing cleanliness, organization and simplicity, enabling shoppers to quickly and easily find what they need without being overwhelmed by dusty clutter.

Emotion

Successful visual merchandising taps into human emotion. Beyond making necessary purchases, customers may unconsciously buy depending upon their current state of mind. In other words, people might visit your store to enjoy a mood-changing experience, something that will make them feel good. Your visual merchandising can benefit from this need, beginning with your storefront. Your window displays should be clean, colorful and simply organized. For instance, entice people to purchase barbecue equipment inside the store with a window display consisting of a patch of vibrant green sod and colorful flowers in a planter, positioned against a large photograph of people barbecuing. Place some of your best outdoor cooking products amid the props with a sign inviting them to, “Come inside to savor summertime!” Inside the store, treat your customers to pleasing scents and music to enhance their visit and create a pleasant feeling.

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Interest

Another facet of the psychology of visual merchandising is capitalizing on what interests shoppers. Mediocrity does not compel people to buy. Use psychology to think about your visual merchandising from the perspective of your patrons; if it looks boring to you, it will be boring to them. Create interest that makes your products stand out from the same items sold by your competitors. For example, rather than having all interior walls painted the same color, develop areas of visual impact using a surprising accent color on a wall section where you’ve displayed a variety of products in a complimentary color, such as using a dark lavender wall as a backdrop for bright yellow items for sale. Pique your customers’ interest with cohesive merchandising by, for example, arranging a colorful surfboard leaning against a striking beach towel. Spread sand on the display floor, add a beach ball and demonstrate a related product with a video running on a laptop. Place some impulse items in the display: If the chief item for sale is pricey, having some less-expensive associated incidentals nearby can add to your revenue. The idea is to capture your customers' attention and interest while giving them reasons to buy.

Imagination

An important element of visual merchandising psychology involves your customers’ imagination. People may be more likely to purchase if you make it easy for them to see themselves using the product. As an example, rather than merely displaying a pasta cooking pot on a shelf with many others, engage your customers’ imagination with a scene of a table covered with a red-and-white checkered cloth, on which sits a colorful Mediterranean-style turret holding the pasta pot. Include an array of wooden spoons and charming bowls to complete a place setting for one. A simple sign could draw attention to the cookware with an inviting statement such as, “Pasta isn’t the only thing you can cook in this pot. A world of culinary delights can emerge!” You can stack an easily accessible quantity of the pots nearby. A display such as this provokes people to insert themselves into the picture and foments a desire to acquire the elements of such a pleasing image.

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About the Author

Michelle Reynolds has been writing about business, careers and art since 1993. She was the publisher of a newsletter, “Working Parents Monthly," as well as a graphic design guidebook. Reynolds also served as human-resources director at a resort/spa for eight years. She is an artist and promotes the arts and other artists through ElegantArtisan.com, a website she developed and maintains.